No tobacco day

Today is World No Tobacco Day which is meant to draw attention to the negative effects of tobacco use on health and mortality risk. Tobacco use significantly increases the risk of cardiovascular, respiratory diseases and certain types of cancer. WHO has also stated that smoking is linked to increased severity of covid-19 symptoms.

More than 5 million covid-19 cases confirmed worldwide

Our covid-19 coverage so far has focused on Ghana so today we look at that is happening around the world.

5,819,962 cases of covid-19 have been confirmed worldwide. 

The United States has the largest outbreak with 1,716,078 confirmed cases, followed by Brazil with 438,238 and Russia with 387,623 cases. United Kingdom and Spain round out the top 5 with 269,131 and 238,278 cases respectively.

The global death toll is devastating with 362,786 deaths reported (a case fatality rate of 6.23%). The U.S. leads by a wide margin with 101,567 deaths followed by the U.K. with 37,837 deaths then Italy with 33,142. Spain  and France round out the top 5 with 29,037 and 28,608 reported deaths respectively. 

Covid-19 and mental health

In addition to the impact on physical, research from the U.S is showing that the pandemic is taking a toll on mental health as well. One-third of Americans showed clinically significant signs of clinical anxiety or depression. with poorer adults, younger people and females more likely to exhibit those signs. 

The mental health impact of the virus is clearly felt even by those who have not contracted the virus. Myriad factors as social isolation caused lockdowns, worry about finances due to job insecurity or loss, fear of falling sick, concern about the health of loved ones with the virus, grief from loss of loved ones, the stress of working from home and providing childcare simultaneously are causes. Most individuals are dealing with multiple issues at once. 

Unfortunately, social support which can be a coping mechanism has been affected by social distancing and lockdowns restricting movement. 

The mental impact of the health will be much larger than the impact of physical health and policies to address mental health should be developed implemented alongside the policies to prevent and treat covid-19. 

Savannah records first covid-19 case and Ashanti passes 1,000 cases

896 new cases have been confirmed in the past week leading to total case count of 6,964. Slightly less (-73) than the 969 new cases recorded in the week prior to this past one.

We noted last week that Western region had overtaken Eastern region's case count. Western region's case count tripled in the past week (from 111 to 334) moving it into the top 3 and surpassing confirmed cases in Central region.

Interpreting covid-19 statistics

Reporting on covid-19 typically tends to include a variety of statistics. Beyond the number of cases, there are infection rates, case fatality rates etc. Today we explain what some of those numbers and statistics mean.

Confirmed covid-19 cases in Ghana rise to 6,096

969 new cases have been confirmed in the week since our last update. Greater Accra contributed more than half of those cases (555), Ashanti Region contributed almost a quarter (226) and Central Region about a tenth (102). 

Today is World Hypertension Day

World Hypertension Day is commemorated to raise awareness of hypertension (high blood).

Hypertension which is caused by unhealthy diets and physical inactivity is linked to increased risk of stroke, heart attacks and kidney disease. Emerging research also links hypertension to increased risk of Covid-19 severity and mortality.

Ghana Health Service yesterday released some information on the Covid-19 fatalities revealing that for 20 out of the 28 deaths recorded, hypertension was listed as an underlying condition.

International Day of Families

Today is International Day of Families so we are presenting some family characteristics in Ghana over the past two decades using statistics from from five Demographic and Health Surveys (1993, 1998, 2003, 2008 and 2014).

2020 census likely postponed due to Covid-19

The Government Statistician just announced that timelines for the census may have to be adjusted in response to the pandemic.

Current restrictions on social gatherings and the recommendations to limit movement understandably have implications for census activities as thousands of enumerators need to be trained and deployed.

More than 5000 confirmed Covid-19 cases in Ghana

Ghana's case count have risen to 5,127 since our last post.  Greater Accra's share of cases has decreased slightly as Ashanti region's cases more than doubled in the past few days.

Covid-19 cases continue to rise and spread across the country.

Ghana case count rose to 4,012 cases today and Bono Region also recorded its first case yesterday. Ahafo, Bono East and Savannah remain the only regions with no reported cases. Today we map the regional breakdown of cases in Ghana and when cases were first recorded in different parts of the country.

CeDHA round-table discussion on covid-19 in Ghana

CeDHA fellows share their views on the pandemic in Ghana. Read the discussion here.

Labour Day and COVID-19

As the world commemorates Labour Day today, we discuss the impact of COVID-19 on the informal segments of the economy.